Penny Lane Centers Partners with RaiseAChild.US

Share Article

Penny Lane Centers has significantly increased its support of this round of recruitment—not only funding our media outreach, but also helping us to build an infrastructure to track and support RaiseAChild recruits.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB)August 07, 2012

Today, Penny Lane Centers signed on as a “Community Partner” in Los Angeles County of RaiseAChild.US, a non-profit organization that encourages LGBT people to build their families through fostering and adoption. Its campaigns recruit and support prospective LGBT parents while putting images of LGBT families into public spaces through PSAs, print media and outdoor advertising.

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children & Families, over 107,000 children in the foster care system are available and waiting to be adopted. Beyond that number, there are 300,000 more children in need of immediate foster placement. Certified families are in short supply.

Over the past 18 months, RaiseAChild.US has run three campaigns in Los Angeles, engaging over 500 prospective parents, with 400 attending recruitment events. Penny Lane Centers is now training and certifying some of these recruits and will continue recruiting in the upcoming RaiseAChild campaign in November, National Adoption Awareness Month.

“We are driven to serve these children who need homes," says Ive Markovits, Founder & CEO of Penny Lane Centers, “and our recruitment of LGBT resource families has been a great investment. The past year of partnership with RaiseAChild.US has positioned us extremely well to actively recruit foster and adoptive parents." Laurie Rein, Adoptions Program Manager agrees. "The LGBT community is a perfect source of safe and loving homes for waiting children and RaiseAChild.US is the best way we have found to reach these prospects."

Penny Lane Centers was founded in 1969 and cares for abused and neglected children and youth by providing therapeutic residential services and education for teenagers, foster family home placements, adoption services, transitional housing for young adults and outpatient mental health services for children and youth.

Rich Valenza, Founder and President of RaiseAChild.US is excited to further develop the collaboration. “Penny Lane Centers has significantly increased its support of this round of recruitment in Los Angeles County—not only funding our media outreach, but also helping us to build an infrastructure to track and support RaiseAChild recruits.”

RaiseAChild.US is working closely with Human Rights Campaign Foundation's “All Children—All Families” (ACAF) initiative, which provides professional training and technical assistance for implementing inclusive policies and best practices for working with LGBT foster-adoptive parents. Penny Lane Centers earned its seal in 2010.

“Penny Lane Center is deeply committed to fairness and inclusion in its work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families,” said Ellen Kahn, Project Director for Human Rights Campaign. “Penny Lane’s staff worked tirelessly in their effort to earn the “All Children—All Families” seal of recognition, which clearly illustrates the high value they place on LGBT adoptive parents. Their superb example will lead to more children being placed in permanent, loving homes.”

To date, ACAF has over 50 participating agencies across the country and has awarded 18 seals of recognition. Last year HRC launched a “50 state strategy,” with the goal of securing at least one ACAF-recognized adoption agency dedicated to working with LGBT families in every state. More information about the initiative can be found at http://www.hrc.org/acaf

For more information:
John Ireland, john(at)RaiseAChild(dot)US, (213) 840-3593
All images and logos are available in 300 dpi and 72 dpi.